Safety committee approves money for school resource officers

Proposal now moves to the budget committee

The Washington County, Tennessee school district is one step closer to having a resource officer in every school.

Tuesday night the county commission safety committee approved the $1 million needed to add 10 SROs. That money includes their salary, benefits, vehicles, equipment and training.

Sheriff Ed Graybeal said there are some questions about how the measure will be funded, but everyone agrees it's necessary. "I think there's a lot of parents and grandparents calling and asking for SRO's in every school," he told us.

Graybeal said it will take about nine months to hire and train the new officers.

The measure has been sent to the budget committee. Their next meeting is in March.